ebookpocket.com Chapter 358: The Adventure Team's Planning
Chapter 358: The Adventure Team's Planning
The remaining ghouls were quickly dealt with as well.“Didn’t expect them to be this ordinary.”
Aria said with a smile.
“I hadn’t been an adventurer for long back then.”
Gauss said helplessly.
He was human, not a god.
He wasn’t this strong from the very beginning.
If it weren’t that they were facing the few of them, a configuration with one level-2 monster accompanied by several level-1 monsters was already pretty terrifying; many adventurer parties would risk getting wiped by them.
But now, not to mention facing him, even the party’s medic Serlandul could easily handle them.
Still, Aria only touched on it lightly.
After all, this was just an outing-type trip. Since Serlandul and Albenia had both left the party to train, Gauss’s squad couldn’t take on any very formal commissions.
After tearing off the commission voucher, Gauss and the others left the cave the way they had come.
“Phew—”
Back out in the open.
Gauss summoned Hephaestus.
“Roar.”
Whether it sensed something or not, it gave a low growl toward Gauss.
Gauss focused his attention on the new talent he had just gained, Rider.
After Hephaestus appeared, that strange force inside him became noticeably more active.
Clearly, this Red Drake, who had spent some time with Gauss, met the standards for a bond, which relieved Gauss’s earlier worries.
As he concentrated his mind on Hephaestus, he felt a subtle connection forming between them.
After a few breaths,
one end of that mental link anchored to Hephaestus, the other anchored to Gauss, like an invisible bridge tying the two together.
“Is this a contract?”
Although it wasn’t formalized in any written way, Gauss felt his relationship with Hephaestus suddenly grow much closer.
There was even a sensation like shared bloodline.
Hephaestus happened to be watching Gauss. Though puzzled at first, it gradually found him more pleasing.
“Roar~”
It nudged its big head against Gauss’s body, a seemingly “tender” motion that shoved Gauss backward.
“Oh no, oh no.”
Gauss patted its head lightly.
Aria glanced at Gauss, then at the Red Drake beside him, her eyes narrowing slightly.
Her intuition told her that the two of them now shared some secret only they understood.
“Hm?”
“Get on.”
While she was pondering by herself, Gauss had already impatiently jumped onto the dragon’s back.
Sitting on Hephaestus and feeling that human-and-drake unity in detail—
it was glorious.
It felt as if an invisible force fused him and Hephaestus, turning two separate individuals into a single combined might.
“ROAR!!!”
Hephaestus also shouted joyfully.
It felt its power return, that aura of sky dominion.
With Gauss on its back, it felt invincible pride.
“Get on.”
“There are some goblins nearby.”
Gauss waved to Aria and Shadow.
His Locate Creature was giving feedback again; there had to be goblins nearby.
Since he and Hephaestus were now in sync, it was a perfect opportunity to let Hephaestus get some practice.
Seeing Hephaestus already eager to take off, Aria quickly had Shadow give her a lift and leaped onto the dragon’s back.
The dragon’s hot flames immediately melted the snow.
Through the thick fog, a line of terrified green-skinned goblins stood frozen in place.
Before they could react, a fierce torrent of flame descended from the sky and engulfed them.
In an instant, the intense heat melted their skin and flesh, leaving only charred, dry corpses collapsing to the ground.
The dragon’s breath grew even hotter.
Gauss noticed the change.
It was probably related to the Rider talent.
Like taking a stroll, Gauss effortlessly killed twenty or so goblins.
After casually using Control Water to douse a stray fire, Hephaestus beat its wings, climbed higher, and flew toward Grayrock Town.
The Rider talent also made Gauss’s control of Hephaestus easier.
They landed in the central square of Grayrock Town. Amid a round of astonished exclamations, Gauss recalled Hephaestus.
No matter how many times people had seen dragons, to ordinary folk dragons still caused a sensation.
Gauss and the others entered the guild and casually submitted the commission.
“You came back at just the right time.”
“Gauss, your spells have arrived.”
The guild’s vice president, Sherry, came down from upstairs.
Seeing Gauss at the counter on the second floor just finishing up, she hurried over in quick steps.
“Confusion arrived?”
“And that Outfit-changing Magic.” Sherry produced two exquisitely made scrolls and handed them to Gauss.
“Sorry for the delay, it took longer because of the Outfit-changing Magic.”
“Thanks.”
Gauss glanced at the two spells in his hands.
Confusion is a fourth-circle spell, and Outfit-changing Magic is third-circle.
The general effect of the latter is the ability to select multiple preset outfits and switch between them nearly seamlessly.
From now on, he no longer needed to worry about wardrobe failures in battle; he could summon new clothes and armor linings anytime.
“Want to grab a drink after work?”
Gauss invited Sherry; he had a favor to ask her.
They’d actually known each other longer than Chairman Eberhard had known him, but Gauss wasn’t as strong back then.
“Tonight?”
Sherry didn’t know what he wanted but didn’t ask further.
“Do you have plans today?”
“Not really.”
Sherry shook her head.
A normal adventurer definitely wouldn’t have the honor of inviting her during her personal time, but Gauss’s invitation was different.
“You and me?”
“And Aria and Shadow.”
“All right, let’s meet at the gate after work.”
With the place decided, Gauss left the guild.
They headed home.
Back at home, Gauss quickly skimmed the two new spells he’d just received.
There wasn’t time to fully learn them today, but he could at least familiarize himself.
The structure of Confusion was one of the most complex of the spells he’d encountered so far, probably because its effects tied into the brain and mental attack domain.
Outfit-changing Magic wasn’t difficult; two more hours of practice would probably let him fully master it.
He was learning more and more spells, and his speed of picking up new magic was accelerating—he was on track to becoming a real walking spell library.
He was probably already ahead of many casters several levels above him in sheer repertoire.
When it was about time, Gauss tidied up and set out with Aria and Shadow.
Gauss wore a set of men’s formalwear.
Ever since he first learned of Outfit-changing Magic, he had bought many sets of clothes: casual, sleepwear, formal, and inner layers for combat.
Firefly Private Kitchen.
“Sorry, we’re closed to the public tonight.”
The owner stood at the door apologizing to customers who had come.
This wasn’t the first group she’d turned away this evening.
A newly arrived server, seeing the commotion, couldn’t help asking an older employee in curiosity.
“Is a VIP coming tonight?”
“I heard someone booked in advance.” The older employee said in a low voice. “Don’t ask, the boss said no prying.”
“Okay.”
Soon the corridor fell silent again.
After waiting patiently for a while, voices suddenly sounded outside the door.
The servers instantly braced.
“Long time no see.”
Gauss walked in with his group, feeling a bit nostalgic.
“No customers tonight?”
He noticed the high-end restaurant, which should have been busy, seemed empty, and asked curiously.
“I guess it’s because of the cold, people don’t want to go out to eat.”
The plump, mature woman proprietor smiled.
The servers, hearing the outer commotion, whispered guesses about the guests’ identities.
Given the place’s upscale positioning and the owner’s rumored past as a skilled adventurer, the small, unassuming restaurant often hosted notable figures from town, yet none had ever seen the proprietor so warm.
The door opened slowly.
Only when the owner saw the visitor’s face as he walked down the corridor did the puzzlement in the staff’s minds resolve.
It was him.
This was a nearly universally well-known figure in town.
“Welcome!”
Seeing the servers bow in unison to line the way, Gauss realized the proprietor’s “cold weather” excuse had likely been a pretext; she had cleared the restaurant early to prepare for him.
“You went to a lot of trouble.”
Gauss smiled wryly.
Tonight he had intentionally not invited Sherry to Sophia’s inn-restaurant.
There was no need to introduce Sophia to Sherry to get extra favors—given his standing in town and his relationship with Eberhard, they would naturally treat him well without special arrangements.
So he chose a restaurant he frequented, trying to be low-key.
Unexpectedly, things didn’t go as planned.
In the private room,
the menu contained many specialty dishes.
Gauss picked several dishes made from magical beast ingredients.
Of course, these had been processed through multiple procedures and were edible—no strange dark cuisine here.
While enjoying the food, Gauss opened tonight’s topic.
“Sherry, do you know anything about this family crest?”
He described the design of the banner flag that had taken away his disciple Rhine’s convoy.
Since returning to Grayrock Town, he’d asked some scholars who studied noble crests, but hadn’t obtained anything useful.
This matter was more complicated than he’d imagined.
On one hand it involved a foreign noble family; on the other, the information was vague—only the description of a claw print, no detailed shape.
As expected, Sherry shook her head after hearing his description.
“But I can use the guild’s channels to make inquiries.”
“I’ll let you know if I hear anything.”
Gauss nodded; that was all he could do for now.
He found the case contradictory; a family bold enough to openly transport people across countries couldn’t be a minor force, yet no famous major families fit the description.
Or perhaps the flag was meant as a diversion?
He added the location of Goat Village and the approximate time Rhine had been taken.
“I heard you used to be in the Thornheart Adventuring Party?”
Gauss steered the conversation toward tonight’s main matter.
Thornheart was one of the strongest adventuring parties active around the Forest Capital, Barry.
“That’s true.”
Sherry sipped her drink and nodded.
She had never hidden it: before she became the vice president of the Grayrock Town Adventurers Guild, she had been a member of Thornheart.
“My mother was the captain of Thornheart.”
She added that line.
Not many people knew that.
Gauss’s face registered understanding.
Although Sherry was older than him, he guessed she was only around thirty.
For someone her age to have risen to Master-level warlock was no small feat.
Especially as a warlock—those who inherit bloodline powers typically have strong roots.
If her mother had been the head of a renowned adventuring party, everything made sense.
The Forest Capital Barry was a famous metropolis; to establish a powerhouse adventuring party there, her mother would likely be a Transcendent-level strong figure.
Still, it was unexpected that under such favorable circumstances she would break from her family’s business and join the guild staff in Grayrock Town.
Grayrock was remote and bordered the Emerald Forest, always at risk of sudden conflicts—a foreseeable danger.
If not for Gauss’s presence, it was hard to say whether Grayrock Town might have suffered the same fate as Blackwater Town.
Gauss didn’t press further.
“Would you like me to introduce you?” Sherry assumed he wanted to connect with Thornheart or perhaps join them, so she offered proactively.
Although she had left Thornheart some time ago, she still maintained communication channels.
“No, no, no.”
Seeing her misunderstanding, Gauss waved his hand.
“I wanted to ask you, Vice President Sherry, whether there are procedures for forming an adventuring guild—what the formal steps are.”
He had assumed Sherry was a core member of Thornheart, but she turned out to be the scion.
That was a lucky correct person to ask.
“Oh.” Sherry nodded, but a faint disappointment showed.
If someone with Gauss’s absolute potential joined Thornheart, it would be a boon to her family.
She quickly suppressed the feeling.
“Like an adventurer party, an adventuring guild also needs to register with the Adventurers Guild.”
Of course, if it’s a wild, unregistered group, there aren’t so many formalities.
But rogue groups risk being cracked down on by the guild.
Gauss nodded.
It was like opening a business—small independent parties were still regulated by the guild, let alone an adventuring guild that’s essentially a corporation.
Who knew if someone would exploit the title to gather people for illicit deeds?
Gauss felt it was time to expand his team.
He needed personnel to help handle spoils and daily arrangements.
Manpower was crucial; no matter how strong he became, situations often required dividing attention.
If he established a team base and recruited members to develop influence, it would save him a great deal of energy.
He could already think of logistics, distribution of spoils, sending people to purchase spells and magic plants, capturing special monster types, or coordinating strikes against medium-to-large monster nests.
“Unfortunately, town-level guilds like ours don’t have the authority to register an adventuring guild.” Sherry spread her hands and warned him first.
If every small town could register its own adventuring guild, the streets would be filled with them; the reason real adventuring guilds congregate near big cities isn’t a coincidence.
“I understand.” Gauss pondered for a moment.
This wasn’t a big problem; after some time, when Albenia and Serlandul finished their “seclusions,” whichever route they took would pass through a major city.
West to the Coral Isles, north to Falim, or east to the Forest Capital Barry—all should have the authority to register an adventuring guild.
It would also be a good opportunity to move his family to the safer big city.